Untitled by Unknown Author Page A

while I came back down to Earth. "Piper."
          "Shit, sorry, love, I— What?"
          "Piper." I pointed at his mobile. "That's how you save me. That's my name." What the heck am I doing?
          "Piper?"
          "Yeah, I know. I get that reaction a lot."
          "It's nearly as unusual as my name. My full name, I mean," he added before I could enquire. "Okay, shoot." He stared at me and it was a wonder I could remember my own name, let alone my number, but his accent, his deep, dark eyes and that smirk broke down my resistance. At that moment I'd have given him my PIN if he'd asked for it.
          "I'd best be off." I drained my bottle and set it down on a nearby table.
          "Wait, wait, just a sec." Leo took my arm and though his touch burned, it made me shiver. Twenty-four years old and I'd never reacted to a man that way before. "You got your phone on you?"
          "Yeah, always. Why?"
          He hit a button on his phone. "Show me."
          When I pulled my mobile out of my handbag, it was alight and a new number had appeared on its screen.
          "Good. You didn't fake me out, then."
          "Why the hell would I give you a fake?"
          "Now you can save my number and you'll know it's me when I call."
          "We'll see if you do."
          "Course I will. I don't go to the trouble of putting down a pint of Guinness to chase after a woman unless I really want her number. I'll definitely be in touch."
          I cleared my throat. "Well. Have a wonderful evening, Leo."
          "I already did." He winked.
          Laughing as I exited, I failed in my attempts to ignore the devil on my shoulder whispering in desperation, please let him call, please let him call.
          Before the crowd swallowed me up I looked back and couldn't help smiling.
          Leo whatever-his-surname-was saluted me with his mobile phone and grinned.
          Yep. He'll call.

    Five

          The following Monday evening, my customary sigh of pleasure as I sank beneath the bubbles morphed into a groan of annoyance. Impatience too, perhaps. Usually I loafed in the bath until the water wrinkled my skin but Gray had called me on the mobile as I'd left work, uttering those immortal words, "We need to talk."
          Unsettled due to his upcoming visit, I covered my face with my hands, getting soap bubbles in my eyes. "Oh bloody hell, Piper Holt, how do you manage to get yourself into these situations?"
          But the quiet of the bathroom, temporarily disturbed by the distant echo of my own voice, was my only reply. Maybe I should have had a shower after getting home instead. Quicker. Less temptation to relax and make feeble attempts to block out the world.
          I scrubbed the day's sweat and grime away, pulled the plug and got out. Once dry, I dressed in a vest and pair of jeans, the simplicity of which showed I hadn't gone overboard in my efforts to be presentable. To think I'd gone to such lengths to impress Gray the night I'd been out with him and Matthias and yet now, here I was, dressing down so it wouldn't look like I was trying to seduce him.
          Time slowed as seven o'clock neared but eventually Gray arrived. "Hey you!" I said with fake cheerfulness, as he crossed the threshold and bent down to kiss my cheek. "How's it going?"
          "Not bad." He smiled.
          "Cuppa? I was just about to make one."
          "Sure. Coffee would be great."
          As I busied myself with the kettle and mugs, Gray leaned against the kitchen doorframe. He made no move to take off his coat or make himself at home.
          "Aren't you staying?" I asked, nodding at his jacket.
          "What?" He looked down at himself. "Oh, this? Well..." A casual shrug, and I wondered if it was truly casual. "That kinda depends, doesn't it?"
          "Oh?" I turned back to the cups. "Just milk for you, isn't